NCJ Number
98962
Journal
Mediation Quarterly Issue: 7 Dated: (March 1985) Pages: 47-67
Date Published
1985
Length
21 pages
Annotation
Based upon her experiences in mediating parent-child conflicts in the Children's Hearings Project (Cambridge, Mass.), the author discusses the program's background, mediators' reactions to parent-child conflicts, mediation within a family-system perspective, mediators' functions, and mediation of difficult parent-child issues.
Abstract
The project uses teams composed of two trained volunteers to mediate family conflict involving children between the ages of 12 and 18. Project staff monitors the implementation of the mediation agreement for 6 months after mediation is completed. Mediators must adjust their personal reactions to various forms of parent-child conflict if their mediation efforts are to be effective. Dealing with the family as a system is central in the project's mediation approach. This involves the mediators' developing an understanding of each particular family organism as it has developed and functions, so that the mediator can help the family resolve its problems through the strengths of the existing family system. Basic issues of control and autonomy are usually central in helping families to discover and commit themselves to concrete behavioral changes that lessen tension. Six references are listed.